Z The Costume Debacle Complete
by Fanatical Writer
Summary: When The Costume Shop gives Emily the wrong costume, it spices things up for her and Reid. Written for CCOAC 'The Masquerade Challenge.'
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This is my submission for The Masquerade Challenge. It's the first of two installments. (Tentatively...we know how _that _goes!) The pairing is Reid/Prentiss, and the costume I was assigned was Cupid._

_Thank-you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!_

_~Angie_

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><p>Emily Prentiss took her credit card back from the clerk at the costume shop, and then waited as the young woman went to retrieve the ensemble that would transform her into Lady Gaga. When the young woman returned, Emily took the garment bag and raced to her car.<p>

Reid's annual Halloween soiree was tonight, and some members of the team had agreed to show up. Last year the event had been a bust with only three people in attendance. Reid, ever the all hallows eve enthusiast, had been devastated, wondering what was wrong with today's world that even Halloween was being forsaken. The team had taken it upon themselves to restore his faith this year.

Determined to get herself in the mood for tonight, she cranked the radio and began singing along with 'Bad Romance.' The great thing about singing along in the car was that one…no one was there to hear how horrible you sounded, and two…you could turn the music up loud enough to fool even _yourself _into thinking you had an amazing voice.

A few minutes later, she pulled into Penelope's driveway and cut the engine, then made her way up the front steps.

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><p>"Hello?" Emily said a few minutes later as she opened her friend's front door and took tentative step inside. "Penelope?" she yelled.<p>

"Em?" she heard from upstairs. "Is that you? Why didn't you ring the doorbell?"

"I did," she informed her friend.

"Oh," she heard Penelope say. "Up here!"

She walked up the stairs across from the entryway until she reached her friend's bedroom, and then hung her garment bag on the hook behind the door. "How's it going? Did you decide on a costume yet?" she asked Penelope through the closed bathroom door off the bedroom.

The door opened to reveal Penelope standing there in her purple bathrobe with matching fluffy slippers, her hair full of curlers. "Yes, I did."

"What are you going as?" she asked.

"_Who_," Penelope corrected, and then grinned slyly. "And you'll have to wait and see."

Emily sighed. "Every one has been so secretive about their costumes this year," she complained.

"I wasn't purposefully trying to be secretive," Penelope explained with a shrug. "I just didn't know who I was going as until a few hours ago."

"Well, it's a good thing I reserved my costume in advance," Emily remarked. "Otherwise I'd have been screwed."

The jet had landed just a few short hours ago, and the team had had their doubts as to whether or not Reid's bash would even take place. He'd assured them that it was still on, and they'd hurriedly finished up their paperwork in order to make sure they got there.

"You know," Emily started, as she unzipped her garment bag. "I'm actually looking forward tonight. I didn't think I was but…no, no, no!" she groaned as she slapped her thigh in protest. "No!"

"What?" Penelope asked, appearing in the open doorway again.

"This is _not _Lady Gaga," Emily said angrily.

Penelope's eyes widened as she strolled towards the costume. "I should say not!" she agreed excitedly.

"I can't…"Emily took a step back as she studied the sexy Cupid costume that she had most definitely _not _reserved. "I can't wear this," she said in wonder. "_Can_ I?"

"Uh…you can wear it and _rock _it," Penelope assured her friend.

"You think so?" Emily asked uncertainly, although she didn't really have a choice. She didn't have time to go back to the costume shop even if the costume she'd requested _was _still there.

Penelope nodded ardently, then grabbed her friends hand and pulled her into the bathroom. "Sit," she commanded, pointing towards the lowered toilet seat.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked.

Penelope lifted her eyebrows and grinned. "I'm giving you some sexy 'fuck me' eyes to go with your costume."

"Whoa," Emily said, flinching as Penelope moved towards her with a make up brush. She held her hands up to shield her face. "What exactly are 'fuck me' eyes?"

Penelope rolled her eyes with a giggle. "I'm just giving you a bit of a smoky look to go with your sexy costume. Trust me. Who's the make-up guru here?"

With a heavy sigh, Emily crossed her legs and lifted her chin, prompting her friend to continue.

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><p>Emily bit her lower lip as she studied her reflection in Penelope's full-length mirror a little while later. "I don't think I can wear this," she said uneasily.<p>

"Of course you can," Penelope yelled back.

Emily frowned: the fluffy skirt stopped several inches above her knees; a layer of bright red tulle with strategically placed hearts covered the matching silk that brushed against her thighs. The red velvet bustier with the sweetheart neckline trimmed in black lace barely covered her chest…and she didn't even have much of one! Thank God for the spaghetti straps; they gave her a bit of added security. The thick black string that laced up the front from her waist to just below her breasts only accentuated what she hadn't realized she possessed.

Upon closer inspection, she decided she quite liked being _endowed_…or at least appearing that way for a change. But she wasn't sure she wanted those assets on display for everyone _else _to see!

The sheer red wings attached to the back of her bustier completed the costume.

"I don't know," Emily said, turning to study herself from another angle.

Penelope appeared in the open doorway again, her make-up finally finished. _That _had only taken an hour! Of course, in true Penelope fashion, it _did _look phenomenal. "For you, I'm sure Reid would make it 'costume-optional,'" she said with a grin. "Of course, the other option he'd give you would be to wear _nothing_."

"Would you stop?" Emily asked with a dismissive laugh, her heart rate speeding up a bit at the mention of the young doctor.

"Trust me," Penelope insisted. "Spencer Reid has got. It. For. You. I see the way he looks at you."

Emily rolled her eyes. "He does not look at me any differently than he looks at anyone else," she denied.

Penelope gave her friend a stern look. "I'm pretty sure he's never undressed _me _with his eyes."

"That's because Morgan's eyes would kill him," Emily commented.

"A-ha!" Penelope said triumphantly. "So you admit it?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Oh, for God's sake. What are you? Going as a lawyer?"

Penelope grinned. "Nope." She'd just turned to head back into the bathroom when a little slip of paper on the floor caught her eye. "What's this?" She bent over and picked it up, then straightened with a grin as she held it up for her friend's inspection.

"What is it?" Emily asked as she studied the simple picture of Cupid's bow.

Penelope's grin widened. "A tattoo. And I know _exactly _where to put it."


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Threeshot, guys, so there will be one more installment. My apologies. Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter._

_~Angie_

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><p>"Hello?" Emily heard Penelope say from beside her.<p>

"Hey," Derek said from the other end of the phone. "We're at Quarter's."

"Quarter's?" Penelope asked. "What are you doing at Quarter's?"

"No one else showed," Derek informed her.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked.

"No," Derek answered. "I got there, and no one else was there. I've already called Will and JJ to let them know."

"OK," Penelope said. "We're on our way. 'Bye."

The rest of her friend's conversation was muffled. Emily had a suspicion Penelope had lowered her voice on purpose. Emily had to grin at that. Her friend needn't have bothered; the attraction between her and her chocolate God was no secret.

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><p>"Are you sure I look OK?" Emily asked as she and Penelope as they approached the bar. Wearing this costume to a private Halloween party was one thing, but wearing it to a bar? That was something else entirely. Emily wasn't sure she had the courage to pull it off. She'd given the costume second thought after second thought on the way here, but it wasn't like she had any other options.<p>

"You look hot," Penelope assured her friend. "How about me?"

Emily grinned as she looked at her friend. "I told you…I got a hard-on when you walked out of the bathroom."

Penelope laughed. "Well, that bodes _very _well for my night."

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><p>As Emily walked in the front door of Quarter's, she once again resisted the urge to tug her too short skirt down. Thank God that almost everyone else was in costume as well. That way she wouldn't stand out so much!<p>

Walking in, the first person she recognized was Derek, and she couldn't help but laugh at his costume. It was so him! Predictably, Penelope made a beeline for him. Emily chose to remain where she was, scanning the area for Reid. When she finally saw him at the bar—downing a shot—she wandered toward him. Shots were out of character for Spencer Reid.

She took the seat next to him and cleared her throat. "Beetlejuice?" she commented dryly.

"_Reid_lejuice,"he corrected her.

OK," she conceded, as she studied him. "_Reid_lejuice." He had some sort of spray in his hair that made it white, and it was standing on end as if he'd stuck his finger in a socket. His face was white as well, with black circles drawn around his eyes. The black and white striped outfit completed his costume. "So…what's with the shots?" she asked.

"My party was a bust," he told her.

"Beer, please," she told the waitress. The waitress nodded, and placed one immediately in front of her. "Thanks," she said, then turned back to Reid. "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to make it better?" she asked sincerely.

He glanced at her, a deliberate, un-Reid like grin crossing his face. "You could slow dance with me," he told her. "Rub up against my man parts."

Emily nearly choked on her beer. "I'm sorry…are you _Reid_lejuice or are you Derek Morgan?"

Reid chuckled. "I'm a man, Em."

_That _wasn't something she'd never noticed. Of _course_ he was a man…and the way he was filling out his sweater vests lately, as if he was trying to bulk up for something, hadn't escaped her attention, either. "Reid," she said softly. "That's obvious."

"To _who?" _he asked dryly.

"To me, for one," she answered.

"Yeah," he said with a harsh laugh. "A lot of good that does me. You could have any man you wanted, Emily."

"That's not true," she argued. But she was flattered by his assessment.

Reid looked levelly at her. "Did you see how almost every single man in this place turned to look at you when you walked in here?" he asked.

"No," she told him. "_I _was too busy looking for _you_."

He studied her face for a minute. "Do you want to dance?" he finally asked.

She grinned widely. "And rub up against your man parts?" she teased.

Reid shrugged. "Well…I couldn't _stop_ you if you chose to do that," he returned.

Emily laughed. "Yes, Reid. I'd like to dance with you."

They walked to the dance floor side by side, and Emily made sure her hip brushed against him. Not blatantly—just enough to make him wonder whether she'd done it on purpose or if it had been an accident.

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><p>As soon as they made it to the dance floor the fast beat stopped, replaced by a soft melody.<p>

Reid wasn't one for dancing…so he thanked God he'd had the grace to change to a slow song. He lifted his hands to rest on her hips…soft and lush in her costume, and began to shuffle his feet to the music. He'd never stood so close to her before, and her scent practically assaulted him. There was a sweet scent he couldn't describe, paired with the raspberry fragrance from her lotion.

Her hips swayed form side to side under his hold, and when she stepped forward close enough so his hips were practically embracing hers, he knew he was in a heap of trouble. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "I like your costume," he said, leaning forward so she could hear him. In fact, he liked it a little _too _much.

She pulled away so she could look up at him, a grin on her face. "Thank you," she said her gaze holding his.

The other men in the bar weren't the only ones who'd noticed her when she'd walked in. He'd been a fan of Em's legs since that first time she'd joined the team at the bar in a dress. And this outfit gave him exactly what he wanted see: more of them. He tried to casually put more space between their lower bodies. If she got any closer, she was going to make him blush.

The rest of the dance seemed to take forever, which was slow torture. On the one hand, he had Emily in his arms. Was there anything better than that? On the other hand…he was sporting hard evidence that his attraction went beyond friendship for her. And he wasn't ready for her to know that. At least not yet.

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><p>Reid and Emily were sitting at a table with Pen and Derek, but each pair was lost in their own conversations. When Pen and Derek got up to hit the dance floor again, Pen leaned across the table and winked at Reid. "Ask her about the tattoo," she instructed before she disappeared.<p>

"Ta…tattoo?" Reid asked, suddenly weak in the knees. It was a good thing he was sitting; he really was a sucker for a woman with a tastefully placed tattoo. _Lord, let it be tastefully placed!_ "Wha…what tattoo?"

Emily sighed as a blush crept up her neck and swathed her cheeks. "It…it's nothing," she assured him in a dismissive tone.

"No," he said with a grin. "A tattoo isn't _nothing_. I want to see it.

With a sigh, Emily stood up and placed her black stiletto clad food on the seat, then pulled her skirt up as little as she could in order to reveal her counterfeit tattoo.

Without thinking, Reid leaned forward, squinting in the dimly lit bar trying to see it better. Emily shivered as she felt his breath on her inner thigh.

He reached forward and skimmed his fingertips over the red bow before lifting his eyes to hers, a smirk on his face. "I'm going to need a close up of that."


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: Thank you to those of you who took the time to review last chapter. I hope you enjoy the final installment!_

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><p>"Spencer Reid," Emily said in a scolding tone as she pulled her leg down off the seat. She nearly knocked his cheek with her knee in her haste.<p>

"What?" he asked, straightening. The grin on his face was one she'd never witnessed before.

"I think…" Her voice was shaky; it matched the trembling between her thighs. Her skin was still tingling where Reid's breath had warmed her flesh. "I think Halloween is bringing out a different side of you, Spencer Reid," she finished as she sat down next to him. "A wicked side."

"Well, maybe I'm sick and tired of the old Spencer Reid," he confided. "Maybe this is the new and improved me."

Emily frowned. "But I _like_ the old you," she informed you.

"You do?" he asked.

She nodded as she took a sip of her beer.

"You like the me who kept everything bottled up? The me who spent six months grieving not only your death, but what would never be?" he asked.

Emily looked at him in surprise. "Wha…what did you think would never be?"

"Well…" Reid deliberately softened his voice. "I never thought—"

"Wait, wait, wait," Emily said. "Let me close my eyes."

"Why?" Reid asked in confusion.

Emily grinned. "Because I want to hear this from _you_, not _Reidle_juice."

Reid chuckled. "OK," he said, waiting as she closed her eyes and cleared her throat.

"I'm ready," she said.

Reid lifted his arm to rest on the spot behind her, and then used his fingers to toy with her hair. "I never thought I was going to see you again, Emily," he said painfully. "I thought you were gone forever. I've always been haunted with missed opportunities, but never to the extent I suffered when I thought I'd lost you."

He watched as she swallowed past the lump in her throat.

"When you walked into that conference room, Emily, I was overcome with emotion. I was angry because you lied to me, elated because you were alive, relieved because…I might get to tell you everything you make me feel." Reid couldn't believe he was coming clean in a bar, but Emily was right; it was Halloween. He could be anyone he wanted to be. And tonight he wanted to be the man who laid it all out on the table.

Emily's eyelids fluttered open, her eyes filled with as much emotion as he was feeling. "Reid," she breathed, her eyes falling to his lips.

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><p>Emily Prentiss would be lying if she said she'd never wondered what Reid's lips would feel like on hers. She'd studied them at length…across from the conference table when no one was looking, sitting across the plane watching him sleep. Her eyes had always been inevitably drawn to his lush lips, and tonight Emily was finally going to get to fulfill that part of her fantasy.<p>

"I had those same regrets, Reid," she confessed, reaching for his hand. Suddenly his costume didn't matter anymore. He was simply Reid, sitting across from her with everything he'd ever felt, everything she'd ever wanted a man to feel for her, flickering unabashedly in his eyes. She laughed nervously. "I just decided I _do _like this Reid."

"Really?" he said, looking up at her as she slid to edge of the seat and then stood.

She bit her bottom lip as she nodded. "Mmm hmmm," she confirmed, giving his hand a slight tug. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" he asked as he stood. She didn't move back; his body brushed against hers as he stood.

Emily lifted her free hand to his mouth, running her middle finger along his lower lip. "I've always wanted a close up of these," she told him, her eyes locked on his.

She spun around and headed for the back of the bar, Reid hot on her heels.

As soon as they rounded the corner to the dimly lit hallway leading to the pool tables, Emily backed against the wall, and grabbing the front of Reid's costume, she pulled him roughly against her. He had to brace his hand against the wall to keep his balance. His mouth came down onto hers, her lips warm and moist beneath his.

Reid didn't want to miss out on anything, on any part of her. Even after she'd parted for him, he traced a leisurely path around the inside of her lips before his tongue thrust forward desperate to discover hers. He stepped forward, entrapping her against the wall as he spread his legs, his inner thighs cradling her hips. He moved his chin closer to his chest, angling his head over hers to command their kiss. He heard her whimper as his tongue stroked hers, the taste of beer mingling with something that he could only describe as pure Emily.

His head was jerked away as her hand tugged on his hair. "Reid," she said breathlessly as he placed a soft kiss behind her ear. She shivered as she tugged on his hair again. "Reid," she repeated huskily.

"What?" he asked as he pulled away, his eyes swimming with desire.

"I think we should go back to your place."

"You do?" he asked in surprise.

She nodded. "Mmmm hmmm," she said with a grin. "Cupid wants to show you her bow."

Reid's eyes widened. "Let's go," he said. "Should we let Morgan and Garcia know—"

"They'll figure it out," Emily told him.

"But we—"

"Reid…what I have for you, is better than Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Swedish Fish, and Snickers combined." She shrugged. "But if you want to waste time talking to Morgan and Garcia—"

He grinned. "They'll figure it out," he conceded.

With a sexy smirk, Emily Prentiss took Spencer Reid home…and restored his faith in Halloween.

***THE END***

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><p><em>Author's Note: Want to know what happened with Pen and Derek…and what they were wearing for costumes? Then keep an eye out for my follow up fic! It'll be posted on or before October 31st, and it's called 'Halloween Hot Stuff.'<em>


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